Blog #18: Carnivore, Omnivore, Herbivore,
Frugivore….
There are many dietary choices. Carnivores eat primarily or only meat. Some well-known carnivores in the animal and
plant world include lions, crocodiles, and the Venus flytrap. Occasionally
humans follow this diet and benefit, though some people become constipated and toxic. One of my teachers was basically a carnivore
for about a decade, eating almost exclusively raw animal protein, primarily raw
beef. He was, and still is, high energy
and healthy. You might want to check out
the link below, where the soundman from the Grateful Dead writes about his life
as a strict carnivore for several decades.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=287013
Omnivores consume a variety of foods, including animal protein, fruit,
vegetables, grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts.
Some well-known animal omnivores are bears, chimpanzees, and turtles. Although there is much debate over which
dietary regimen is natural for humans, most scientists conclude that prehistoric
humans appear to have been omnivores and that this diet is probably the easiest
to follow. Many people who eat primarily
whole, organic foods tend to stay healthy and vital as omnivores. The Omnivore’s Delemma, by Michael
Pollan, is an excellent book. A link
outlining the book’s contents is below.
Herbivores consume little or no animal protein. Human herbivores are usually classified as
vegetarians and vegans. Vegetarians eat
eggs and dairy in addition to fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, beans,
seeds, nuts, etc. Vegans consume no animal
protein. Well-known animal herbivores
include rabbits, giraffes, and honeybees.
Some people maintain that humans are meant to be vegetarians because of the
length of their intestines, which are much longer than the typical
carnivore’s, the relatively small human mouth
compared with those of carnivores and because human teeth are more suited to
grinding and chewing grains and vegetables than seizing and tearing flesh. It can be challenging to obtain sufficient
quantities of Vitamin B12 as a vegan, but when people consume a high quality,
balanced vegan or vegetarian diet and supplement with juices, herbs and
vitamins as needed, there is strong scientific evidence that this type of diet
often leads to improved health and greater longevity compared with people who
consume meat, poultry, fish, or seafood.
Here is a relevant link http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/48/3/712
Frugivores consume only fruit, nuts, and seeds. Some insects, such as the fruit fly, are
frugivores, and some bats, birds, and lizards in tropical areas consume
primarily fruit, seeds, and nuts, except around the time when they are feeding
offspring. Occasionally humans thrive as
frugivores, especially when they live low stress lifestyles in unpolluted
environments, such as some tropical islands.
One danger of following this type of diet and the vegan diet is that
after several years, the bodily functions dedicated to digesting animal protein
become dormant or shut down completely, i.e. the stomach is no longer acidic enough
to digest animal protein, and a different proportion of enzymes is secreted by
the pancreas and liver. Then, if animal
protein is re-introduced into the diet, serious health consequences can
result. Below is a relevant link. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2013/02/07/ashton-kutchers-fruitarian-diet-what-went-wrong
People also follow
other types of diets, i.e., totally raw, raw vegetarian or raw vegan, liquids
only, and breatharian (deriving all nutrients from sunlight, air, and water). There are serious health risks associated
with these diets, although I know several people who have thrived on totally
raw and even raw vegan diets for many years.
In order to maintain healthy teeth and bones, raw vegans generally need
to consume vast quantities of organic leafy greens, consume wheatgrass juice
and other vegetable and fruit juices, and take nutritional supplements. Infants are liquidarians for the first
several months of their lives. Some
people follow such a diet for several days or weeks and seem to benefit from
it; however, roughage is an essential element for most people and aids in
detoxification. I do not know of any
people who can prove they have followed a breatharian “diet” any longer than a
few weeks without damaging their health.
Most plants could be considered breatharians. Here is a sensible link addressing a raw
foods diet: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/raw-food-diet_b_2015598.html
This blog’s offer: feel free to
contact me with more specific questions regarding any of these diets. If you would like guidance regarding your own
diet, or want to begin a detoxification program, I will help you with that at a
reduced fee if you mention this blog.
Please share this blog with others.
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